Little League team coached by kids a winner

Cameron Shelley, 14, right, who with fellow San Clemente Little League coach Chris Puckett plays for the freshman baseball team at San Clemente High School, talks with some his players on the San Clemente American No. 2 team.PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

"My kid is playing the best baseball he ever has played," said Brad Christian, a Little League umpire whose son Max plays on the team. "I was probably the biggest skeptic, the most vocal about 'I don't want my kid to be on this team.' (Now) I can't say enough good things about them. I think they are the best coaches my kid has ever had."

This was a team that couldn't find a coach until the boys stepped up. Puckett's father, Gary, had to clear it with Little League District 68.

The team started 0-2, improved to 6-4 by midseason and has gone 9-1 in the second half. It did this while both coaches were on San Clemente High School's league-champion freshman baseball team.

For Puckett and Shelley, it meant juggling high school and Little League schedules – games and practices, seven days a week, rushing from high school games to Little League games. And keeping up their grades.

At practices, the coaches became teachers and mentors, regardless of their age similarity to the players.

"They still listen," Shelley said. "None of them seem to goof off. They still respect me."

Heather Fritzinger, whose son Calvin Murray is on the team, said it's clear the players look up to the young coaches. "They're able to communicate with the kids at their own level," she said.

Eric Wagoner, whose son Tucker is on the team, also is a believer. "Chris and Cameron really know the game," Wagoner said.

The coaches taught advanced skills to players moving up from Little League's 12-year-old division. "They didn't know how to lead off or do pickoffs," Puckett said. "We had to go through the steps ... and teach our pitchers how to pitch instead of just throwing the fastball – working locations and stuff. And pickoffs. It was a really tough transition from 60-foot bases to 80-foot bases. It's been fun."

Cameron Shelley, 14, right, who with fellow San Clemente Little League coach Chris Puckett plays for the freshman baseball team at San Clemente High School, talks with some his players on the San Clemente American No. 2 team. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American No. 2 coaches Chris Puckett, 15, left, and Cameron Shelley, 14, watch one of their players between innings during a game May 16. Puckett and Shelley are coaching a San Clemente Little League Juniors division team that has players roughly the same age as them. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Ladera Ranch Little League's Cameron Blunt slides in ahead of a tag attempt by San Clemente American's Calvin Murray. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente coach Chris Puckett, 15, greets the umpires and the opposing coach before a game against Ladera Ranch. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cameron Shelley, 14, left, and Chris Puckett, 15, center, have spent this baseball season coaching the San Clemente American No. 2 Little League Juniors division team while playing on the San Clemente High School freshman team. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American coach Cameron Shelley, 14, talks with an umpire about a call during the team's game against the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coach Cameron Shelley sends Logan Smith to second base during San Clemente American No. 2's Little League game against the Ladera Ranch Padres. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coach Cameron Shelley, 14, left, talks with players Colby Morillo (24) and Tucker Wagoner before a game. Shelley and fellow San Clemente High School freshman Chris Puckett, 15, are coaching a San Clemente Little League Juniors division team of 12- to 14-year-olds. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coach Chris Puckett, 15, leads a between-innings meeting of the San Clemente American No. 2 Little League team during a game against Ladera Ranch. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coach Cameron Shelley, 14, right, gives Calvin Murray some encouragement before Murray heads to bat during a game May 16. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American's Nathan Atkinson pitches against the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres in a game May 16. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American No. 2 player Logan Smith throws to first base during a game against the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American No. 2 coach Cameron Shelley, pictured watching his team warm up, wants to be a professional baseball player when he grows up. "If that doesn't happen, I'm going to be a coach,” he says. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Gary Puckett, father of San Clemente American No. 2 co-coach Chris Puckett, talks to the team before a game. Gary Puckett, persuaded San Clemente Little League to accept his son and Chris' friend Cameron Shelley as coaches of the team. The elder Puckett handles the paperwork. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cameron Shelley, background, gives instructions to players in the dugout while coaching first base. Shelley and his co-coach, Chris Puckett, have taught advanced skills to players moving up from Little League's 12-year-old division to the Juniors division. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American No. 2 coach Chris Puckett, 15, fills out the lineup card before a game against the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cameron Shelley, 14, says the fact that some of the San Clemente Little League Juniors division players he's coaching are the same age as he hasn't kept them from listening to him. "They still respect me," he says. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coaches Cameron Shelley, left, and Chris Puckett say the Pledge of Allegiance with their San Clemente Little League players before a game against the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Cameron Shelley, 14, left, co-coach of the San Clemente American No. 2 Juniors division Little League team, has the attention of his players. “None of them seem to goof off," he says. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American's Max Christian is out on a force play at home as Ladera Ranch's Jonny Zamora takes the throw. Max's father, Brad, says, “My kid is playing the best baseball he ever has played” under the tutelage of teenage coaches Chris Puckett and Cameron Shelley. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Coach Cameron Shelley, 14, works with his catcher during warm-ups. Shelly and his San Clemente Little League co-coach, Chris Puckett, "really know the game," according to Eric Wagoner, whose son Tucker plays on their team. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American No. 2 player Logan Smith catches a late throw to second base as Ladera Ranch Little League Padres player Brock Stuart makes it safely. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
San Clemente American's Calvin Murray makes it to second base against the Ladera Ranch Little League Padres during a May 16 game. PAUL BERSEBACH, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

1 of

User Agreement

Keep it civil and stay on topic. No profanity, vulgarity, racial
slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about
tragedies will be blocked. By posting your comment, you agree to
allow Orange County Register Communications, Inc. the right to
republish your name and comment in additional Register publications
without any notification or payment.